Hold my heart
by Tantoun
Summary: Ruby and Belle's journey together.
1. Chapter 1

The rocks beneath her dug into her rib painfully. The sound of the leaves ringed into her ears as she cracked one eye open afraid of the light attacking her peaceful eyes. She rolled into her back sighing, damn you wolf's time. She remembered running out of the diner yesterday to make sure she didn't hurt anyone at all. Granny knew that her granddaughter will be safe in the woods away from everyone else, it was the way things have always been.

Its a little after sunrise, the air was still heavy and cold. Ruby finally mastered up her courage to get off the ground and on her feet again, human feet that is. She dusted her knees then her shoulders before finally finding her way out of that forest.

It often bothered her how she always woke up in the forest alone, with no one to hold her or anyone to tell her that it was going to be okay to be who she was, a wolf. Her grandmother always made her wear her cloak which was something that she was sick and tired of; she wanted to feel the air tickling her fur as she ran in the wild, feel the leaves crushing under her paws, she wanted to feel alive. Ruby dug into her pockets and pulled the diner's keys, its time to go back to her normal life again, the boring one.

The diner's door ringed before Ruby finally made her appearance known with an innocent smile her heels clicked a few times before she registered her Granny's figure , maybe if she smiled wide enough Granny will forgive her? Nope.

"What took you so long?" yeah Granny wasn't amused, not at all, Ruby could tell right away.

"I um overslept?" Ruby shoved her hands into her pockets and pouted her lips in attempt to look all cute and adorable. Granny narrowed her eyes at her and let her off with a warning this time, she was just too adorable to be scolded this time.

She tied up her apron, pulled up her hair into a ponytail and finally got to work. The day was long and hectic, many people came in crowding the place, it was only noon for god's sake. Ruby was on her own that day since the other girl who used to help her out called in sick. With more than ten tables to serve the brunette might have messed up a few things along the way, like that guy that sat by the window? Ruby accidently poured salt into his coffee rather than sugar, poor guy. The brunette covered her face and sighed into her hands, this was getting way out of control. Maybe she should just turn into a wolf, it was wolf's time anyway plus she could scare them all off and get them all to leave at the same time. She shook her head trying to get those silly ideas out. Two hours later and everyone left save for a brunette who was sitting in the last booth. Ruby tilted her head like a puppy at her, that girl looked clueless.

"Can I help you?" Ruby did a double take on the girl, she had gorgeous eyes that's for sure and she was far too lost even with the menu in her hand.

"Um what-is this-eh" her eyes scanned the menu mouthing the names like it was her first time reading them.

"Should I help you pick?" Ruby's sweet voice was met back with an enthusiastic nod.

"Do you want something to drink first?" Another nod, this time with a smile.

"How about an iced tea?" The taller brunette clicked her pen ready to scribble down the order.

"Wait is that like a cold tea?" Those furrowed eyebrows explained that this brunette never had one of those before.

"Kind of, Im sure you will like it! so should I get you one?"

"Yes please" the brunette placed both of her little hands on the table and nodded her head again approving Ruby's choice.

It took less than a minute to prepare the drink and another good ten seconds for that brunette to empty that cup.

A drink after the other and a little conversation gave Ruby some more information about that girl. The girl kept looking at her glasses and then fidgeted at the hem of her dress. Ruby noticed the little movements the girl was making, she looked nervous.

"Are you okay? You look worried" a soft touch on the shoulder was all that the girl needed to spill it out.

"I- I don't have any money to pay for this, I can wash the dishes or wipe the floor or you know I can-" Ruby shined one of her signature smile that made the girl pause for a second to listen to what the brunette was about to say.

"This one- I mean all of them are one the house! Don't worry ok? And also we have many rooms available so Im sure we can find you one ok?"

"Thank you, it really means a lot" the brunette looked grateful and somehow making her smile made Ruby's heart skip a beat.

Later that night when Ruby tidied the room next to her's and made sure the brunette had everything she needed including a little minted chocolate chip piece on her pillow.

"Belle" she whispered as she laid her head on the pillow. She repeated it once, then twice letting it roll off her tongue a few more times, she liked it. Somehow she felt she will be repeating that name all over again the next morning, Ruby closed her eyes slowly, she dozed off with nothing but that Belle on her mind.


	2. Chapter 2

Ruby groaned into her pillow several times hoping that those noises out side her room would go away or disappear but they just increased instead. She propped herself on her elbows and glared at the door, whoever they were they were going to suffer the wrath of Ruby the wolf. She yanked her comforter off her warm body and threw a shirt on before finally going out. The brunette cursed under her breath before she yanked the door knob as well. Whoever they were she was going to rip~

Belle? Granny? Ruby cocked her head at the sight before her, a very cute one. Belle had a cloth wrapped around her head, another one on her waist And another in her hands. Granny didn't look amused with Belle cleaning everything up and wiping everything down. Ruby leaned against her bedroom door crossing her arms against her chest as she looked at how determined Belle looked like, oh. She remembered Belle's request of working instead of paying for her food and chuckled at how the brunette lived up to that promise. She strode forward towards them and finally took a stop near them, close enough for them to notice her. Granny tilted her head towards Ruby silently begging her to do something about this. The brunette smiled apologetically at her, her hand reached over holding the cloth in Belle's smaller ones.

"Come on, you are coming with me to the diner" and just like that, the cleaning business was long forgotten and Belle tottered to her room to get ready for that little diner trip, she might find more things there to clean instead of the hotel.

An hour in and Belle was already killing it. She refilled coffee cups, juices, iced teas and delivered the orders to each table perfectly. Ruby glanced at Belle every once in a while as she scribbled down an order to make sure the brunette was doing alright to find her doing a lot more than that. Hours passed by and Belle loved every second of that work to the point where she kept nagging on Ruby's head to teach her a few waitressing techniques, Ruby said yes.

Late after everyone were gone Belle was happily wiping some crust off a table when Ruby laid a hand on her shoulder to get her attention.

"Hey, so did you like it here?" Belle let go of the cloth in her hand to take a seat when Ruby gestured to the chairs beside them. It wouldn't hurt to have a conversation now since the diner is closed.

"I love it, I just love this feeling of being able to help out and not be a borden on both of you" her voice was coming out in nearly whispers, she did feel like that the day before indeed. That was the reason she made sure she helped out in the hotel and that was why she accepted working her at the diner too, she felt like by helping out she was somehow not a borden to the sweet girl before her and her nice grandmother.

"What? Nome sense! You are not a burden ok? Don't even think of that again, promise me that" Ruby couldn't help but to reach across the table and cover Belle's hand with her's in an attempt to comfort the girl.

"Okay?" chimed Ruby again causing the girl to jump of her chair and almost off on the floor.

Belle nodded her head with a hollow laugh, her hand over her racing heart. Ruby almost gave her a heart attack with that scream she did, it would have been a beautiful heart attack if you asked her.

Granny was on a rocking chair in the hotel hallway when the giggles and laughs invaded the hotel's silence. She would have scolded both of the girls to keep them from annoying the residents of the hotel except that they didn't have any really. Instead she lowered down the old book in her hands and looked at them, she cant remember the last time she saw Ruby this happy.

Belle ran towards Granny with open arms that wrapped her up in a warm hug to welcome her home.

Story after story and Belle made sure to tell granny about every single encounter she had with the customers and ever little tip she got back when she served each table. On the other side Ruby was leaning back in the chair with both of her feet propped on the table, eyes busy with her iPhone.

"What is that?" Wondered Belle who have been sitting next to Ruby for a good ten seconds staring at her phone screen. Granny left sometime ago and Belle moved on to Ruby's side, Ruby was so into her game that she didn't notice Belle coming her way.

"What's what?" Ruby's hazel eyes met Belle's puzzled ones.

"That" she pointed her finger at the weirdly shaped thing with moving pictures that was in Ruby's hands.

"This?" She pulled her phone up to make sure what was Belle talking about.

"This is a phone, in this case this is an iPhone! You can play games, send messages and videos to other people using this!"

"What do you mean videos?" This was going to be a long conversation.

Ruby explained everything to Belle and the young lady seemed to understand the concept of having an phone.

"Ok so what where you doing earlier on your iPhone phone?" She pointed again to it hoping to understand more.

"It's called an iPhone Belle just iPhone" Belle nodded her head trying to process the idea of that iPhone phone thing then waited for Ruby to explain to her the moving pictures.

"I was playing a game! Like a puzzle you know?" She tapped away on her phone, the game opened up and the intro music filled up the place. Belle's eyes followed the characters left and right, this was amazing.

"Look here, This game is called wolf toss" Ruby forgot to finish the sentence after tapping on start.

"Wait you are on of those pigs?" Bella's eye followed the poor pigs who ran around the place while the wolf chased them.

"Nope, ironically I'm the wolf" Ruby didn't realize the words she just said until they left her mouth.

"Ironically?" The brunette felt Belle as she shifted by her side, Ruby shrugged it off with:

"Never mind I didn't mean anything" and prayed that Belle didn't take that in mind.

Two hours later Belle was at her room and Ruby was at her's, the brunette didn't ask about the wolf thing so Ruby sighed in relief that no more questions were asked.

She brushed her hair, put on her pajamas and finally got ready for her warm bed. The moment her head dipped into the pillow, a quite knock was forced against her door.

"R-Ruby?" Someone was whispering her name, why was she afraid? She was a wolf! She shouldn't be afraid.

The door cracked open slowly to revel a scared Belle, sigh.

"Belle? Are you okay?" She sat up on the end of the bed and looked up to her.

"No I'm fine I Just had a nightmare and I was hoping that you can-if I can- um you know take refuge here instead of staying in my room all alone? Please?I will be out of your hair in no time promise" Ruby looked at the little brunette before her, Belle looked pretty shocked up and really terrified. She gestured for her to come closer and scooted to the other side of the bed making room for Belle to lay down.

The little brunette's breath evened in less than thirty minutes, Ruby flicked the lamp on her counter off and laid back down to doze off as well, a hand wrapped around her arm and held it there. She knew that Belle was asleep and that's what made a smile tug on her lips, Belle looked peacefully asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

The sounds of eggs being fried, the metal of the pans clinging, along  
with the scent of bacon filled the diner that quiet morning. Belle was  
seated next to the cashier: her favorite spot in the whole restaurant  
where she got to relax on her break and observe Ruby's superior  
waitressing techniques. Ruby made her way out of the kitchen heading  
towards where Belle was. She slid a plate of bacon and eggs across the  
table towards the brunette's waiting eyes. Belle eyed the plate for a  
few seconds, not sure of how the things on it were supposed to be  
eaten.

Ruby explained what goes where and why. Belle's mouth formed a perfect  
'O' after that little explanation that Ruby had made, and finally  
stretched her hands forward to grab the fork and the knife so that she  
could dig into her plate.

Ruby couldn't help but to smile at Belle's facial expression as it  
changed from wonder to amusement to happiness. It was funny how this  
past week went: Belle and Ruby had gotten so much closer to one  
another. It had become a habit of Belle's to have nightmares every  
night just so she would get to sleep next to Ruby. If Ruby was honest,  
she loved holding her for some reason. Ruby had lived her whole life as  
an orphan so this, all of this, was new to her. The idea of holding  
someone close, the feeling of being over-protective of them, the  
feeling of wanting to do the impossible to make that person happy…

Ruby's attention was brought back to reality when Belle poked her arm  
lightly with her fork.

"Ouch!" whined Ruby as she forged a pained face.

She is a terrible liar, noted Belle, shaking her head.

"So you with me now? Can you teach me how to make this?" Her delicate  
hand pointed at the dish enthusiastically.

"Of course, after we close the diner, ok?" Ruby's hand landed on the  
top of Belle's head and ruffled her hair softly eliciting a giggle out  
of the brunette.

That was possibly the first time that Belle wanted to serve every  
single customer just so that she could get rid of them and have the  
diner to herself, Ruby, and their pancake.

Belle was so excited about those pancakes because, for the past week,  
she was learning the basics, things like frying eggs, boiling eggs, and  
frying eggs again, and she was bored of eggs if you asked her.

The first time she tried her hand at frying the eggs Ruby gave her, she  
ended up with some hard to clean stains on the frying pan, and Granny  
was not amused.

The diner was finally almost deserted by the customers. Belle had a  
devilish look on her face, one that Ruby didn't understand. She marched  
forward and locked the door; her hands reached up and flipped the Open  
sign to Closed. Oh well, they had five more minutes till they closed  
this thing up it wouldn't hurt anyone. Ruby stood by the cashier  
counter, hands resting on her waist, and chuckled at how eager Belle  
was to learn to make those pancakes.

Belle promised Ruby to clean everything while the other brunette  
collected the ingredients needed to make that pantcake, pancake, dish.  
When Belle's hands finally wiped the last counter clean, Ruby poked her  
head out of the kitchen door, grinning.

"Come on, princess! Everything is ready!" Belle bit her lip at the  
nickname. She had been reading stories to Ruby every night that she had  
shown up at her room. Ruby noticed that every heroic princess reminded  
her of Belle. Somehow therefore, Belle was a princess, her princess.

Belle's blue bright eyes registered the sight before her when her  
little hands pushed the door open. The table in the middle of the  
kitchen bore many things: flour, sugar, eggs, and a huge bowl.

Belle bubbled with excitement as she made her way through the empty  
kitchen. Her finger traced the shape of the egg as she waited for Ruby  
to join her. The taller brunette joined her finally after she had  
finished the register stuff, things that Belle didn't even bother  
asking about.

"Shall we?" Ruby gestured to the ingredients that lay on the table, and  
Belle couldn't stop nodding.

Everything was going smoothly so far; Belle managed to crack the eggs  
without ruining their work place, placed them in the bowl, until she  
accidently poured -

"You did not just do that!" yelped Ruby dusting her flour-covered  
torso.

"I didn't mean to, it slipped out of my hand, I swear!" Belle gulped at  
the way Ruby looked at her, those hazel crazy eyes never -

"Ruby," she warned once, twice, thr -

"No."

Belle stood there frozen, covered in flour, and it took her a few more  
moments to make sure that Ruby wasn't going to pour anything on the top  
of her head, until she cracked one eye open.

Crap.

Ruby cracked another egg on the brunette's head when Belle finally  
moved her arms forward and wrapped them around the taller brunette's  
neck. If she was going down, then so was Ruby.

Ruby groaned at how clingy Belle was to the point where the little  
brunette got everything that was poured over her head onto the taller  
brunette's clothes. Great.

The sounds of their giggles filled the place as they pushed and pulled  
around, trying to get rid of one another. It wasn't until Ruby pulled  
back slightly to notice how close they really were. Belle's nose nudged  
hers lightly as their eyes locked into one another.

It was then that Ruby noticed how Belle's arms were tight around her  
waist, Belle's breath hot against her lips. It was then that she  
noticed what was going on at that moment.

She pulled away as if Belle's touch magically burned her skin. She  
straightened out her shirt, sniffed, and got her eyes back on the dish  
instead. Belle's confused look lingered on Ruby's rosy cheeks. Did the  
taller brunette seem somehow offended by what had happened? Or what  
could have happened? She looked down at her feet to find the whole  
floor covered in what was supposed to be their pancake. Her hand  
reached up and tucked a strand of her brown hair behind her ear, and  
the silence that fell upon them both was so awkward and thick.

"So shall we go back to this?" whispered Ruby quietly.

"Yeah, sure" she responded back in that same tone.

The pancake making wasn't as fun as Belle had thought it would be, or  
maybe could be, since Ruby acted all stiff and formal. The taller  
brunette's eye contact with Belle never lingered, she barely stared  
into her eyes like she usually did before. Belle didn't want to push it  
and ask Ruby about this whole attitude, so instead she bore her and her  
awkward behavior.

When the dish was finally ready and resting on the table, Belle took a  
chance and smiled at Ruby, who returned that smile with another smile  
that held something else: regret.

They ate in silence until the dish was finally empty, and Belle  
couldn't wait to get home. Maybe there Ruby would be herself and forget  
about this nonsense. As the taller brunette got up with the dish and  
dropped it into the sink, Belle eyed her curiously. Ruby picked up her  
coat and looked in Belle's direction as if she was silently asking her  
to get up and do the same.

Belle walked behind Ruby, still not familiar with everything around her  
in Storybrooke. She admired the way Ruby's shoulders were high and  
strong as she tucked her warm hands into her jacket, shielding them  
from the harsh cold.

"Are you okay" Shit. Belle bit into her lower lip and hoped that Ruby  
would just ignore her. She had done so well these past few moments, why  
did she have to embarrass the girl now. The tiny brunette got a whisper  
of what seemed like a "yeah" back and that was that. She wondered about  
what had happened before. Maybe Ruby didn't want to be that close to  
her, or maybe she hated those touchy-feely moments. Who knew, she  
shrugged her shoulders absent-mindedly as she ran into Ruby's back.

Oh, they were there finally.

She apologized to the taller brunette and yet again got nothing but  
that same smile before they both went in. Belle shrugged her coat off,  
the warmth of the hotel showering over her. She sighed in relief, that  
now she could sit down, maybe read a book or two for Ruby, and things  
would go back to how they used to be.

Belle sat down like she did every day, book in hand. She flipped the  
book open and read through the introduction, the part that Ruby didn't  
like. She smiled when her ears picked up the sound of someone's feet  
stomping on the floor. Little did she know that those were Ruby's feet  
guiding her to her own room. Belle's eyebrows furrowed at the sound of  
Ruby's door being shut loudly.

She set the book down, suddenly turned off by that sound, and a sigh  
made its way out of her full lips before she picked that book up and  
returned it to its previous place. Belle made her way up to her room,  
her hand tilted the doorknob tiredly as she opened the door. The room's  
silence taunted her for a few moments before she changed into her  
pajamas, brushed her hair, and flicked the light by the bed on. It took  
her a few chapters to finally feel sleepy; books have always helped her  
with dozing off. She laid her tired head against the pillow and prayed  
that nightmares wouldn't visit her that night.


	4. Chapter 4

_**AN: A huge thank you to my lovely beta Rumblovebelle on tumblr.**_

Belle's mind was filled with the images that taunted her from last night. The brunette hated that Ruby had acted like a five year old with what had happened yet again; she didn't know what was really going on with the taller brunette. With every wipe of the tables, she kept thinking about her. The brunette hadn't shown up for work that day and it made Belle sick to her stomach. The petite brunette had taken every single possibility into consideration:

Ruby was afraid of getting attached to someone, check.

Ruby had feelings for someone else, check.

Ruby hated her maybe, check.

That whole thing was Belle's fault somehow? Check.

A tired sigh escaped her full lips at the possibility of that last reason. If she hadn't asked about making those pancakes, they wouldn't have gone through that little food fight and Ruby would have been acting normal instead of how she was acting that day. Even when Belle had to work overtime due to Ruby not being there, she was still more worried about the brunette than mad at her.

The bell of the diner door rang and Belle busied herself more with cleaning the tables and delivering the orders. If that was Granny, she didn't want to look like she was slacking at work (which she totally was).

"Hey." Belle stiffened at the voice, Ruby's voice.

She turned around to face the taller brunette to be greeted with a smile. She arched an eyebrow at Ruby's face. Why was she smiling like nothing had happened yesterday; like she hadn't ignored Belle's reading session last night; or when Belle had heard the water running in Ruby's bathroom, yet when she knocked because of another bad dream, she hadn't ignored _that_ as well.

Suddenly Belle went from confused to furious in a matter of seconds. Yes, she was relieved that Ruby was fine, but seeing that smile made her feel like her feelings weren't that important compared to Ruby's. _So it was okay for Ruby to stop talking to her whenever she wished, and then go back to it again whenever she wanted?_

"Oh, so we are on speaking terms now?" whispered Belle a little too harshly, which caused Ruby's smile to drop. Ruby's lips parted as if she was going to say something, but with that look on Belle's face, she just couldn't do it. Before she could do something about it, Belle left her for another table.

It took a good whole hour before Belle finally dropped the cloth in her hand and went straight to where Ruby was. She should be mad at how Ruby had acted, but she just couldn't bring herself to feel that way. _Maybe Ruby had a reasonable explanation_.

"You have five minutes. Explain your actions from last night," she whispered lowly as she sat across from the brunette. Ruby's hazel eyes glanced up to meet Belle' blue ones. Ruby's hands fidgeted with the phone in her hand before she placed it on the table. Belle's eyes curiously followed her every move. Ruby turned slightly to her side to pick something up and the brunette's hands revealed a wrapped package, a little one. She slid it across the table hoping that Belle would accept it as a little apology.

"I'm not accepting anything until you explain."

_Crap._

"Um…ok." She didn't pull the package back to her side, but let it lay there in between them.

"Yesterday, we – you - I was afraid that had I made you uncomfortable and I was just too shy to face you and talk about it."

_A lie._

"Why didn't you say so, silly? Nothing happened! You made it look like I killed a relative of yours!" Belle's eyes shined at that, her hands stretched forward and held Ruby's warm ones.

A smile finally overtook Ruby's face. _Maybe it was for the best_, she thought. She pushed the package once again, subtly, with the tips of her fingers into Belle's direction, silently asking her to open it already.

Belle held the package up to her ear and shook it lightly, trying to guess the contents of the mysterious box.

"What is it?" she whispered more to herself than to Ruby.

After she finally gave up on guessing the contents, she tore the wrapping gently to reveal-

"Oh my God! Ruby! You got me an iPhone phone?!" Her voice bubbled with excitement at her new toy.

"An iPhone Belle, just iPhone, no phone." She chuckled at how adorable Belle was, all curious and surprised by her gift.

"Here let me show you." Ruby mustered up her courage and slid into the seat next to Belle. She showed her everything she needed to know about how things worked on the phone. The e-mail and the SMS messages were the first things she taught Belle about; she even registered her a new e-mail. Ruby finished off her little tutorial by saving both her number and her email so that if Belle needed anything, she could contact her right away.

Belle's arms circled Ruby's neck as she hugged her tight. Granny shot them both a look to get them to understand that the diner wasn't going to serve those costumers on its own.

Belle was brave enough to plant a kiss on Ruby's cheek before she tottered her way to Granny to brag about her new iPhone phone.

The taller brunette released a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding for a while before she turned around and observed how happy Belle was with her phone.

The petite brunette tucked her phone into her pocket and went back to work happily.

Ruby too got up from where she was and gathered the remains of the wrapping paper that was all over the table so that she could put on her outfit and start working as well.

An hour later, Ruby busied herself with the dishes while Belle was busy waitressing the other tables. The taller brunette's phone chimed once indicating a new message. She unlocked her phone, but found a new e-mail instead of a message.

"Hello.

This is Belle. I just want you to know that I mastered sending messages through this brick finally. At first I mistook the note pad for the messages and wrote you a message, but when I saw that you took longer than expected I realized that maybe I had made a mistake. I think you should get me a cake! Look at me sending my first message!

Love,

Belle."

Ruby couldn't keep a straight face throughout the e-mail at all. A whole-hearted laugh left her lips as she clung to her phone. Belle was for sure the most adorable thing ever. Her fingers danced on the screen for a while before she typed in her response.

"Hello! Well Belle I hate to be the one delivering such bad news but you sent me an e-mail, not a message! But that's ok as well! It means you are learning what is what and that is amazing! I'm pretty sure by the end of the day you will be able to hack into other people's phones through yours ;)."

Ruby placed her phone down on the table next to her and made sure not to place it in a puddle like she had done to that poor thing the week before.

The phone chimed again indicating another new message. Ruby wiped her hands clean of the water that she had been cleaning with and grabbed her phone smoothly, ready to reply to whatever Belle sent her.

_Another email. _

She shook her head and muffled another laugh once again.

"Hello, it's me again! Wait, what does ;) mean? You can't place a semi-colon and a bracket like that! It doesn't make any sense and it's highly confusing. Also what does hacking mean?

Love,

Belle."

Ruby's fingers pressed against her temples softly as she smiled down at the e-mail. Teaching Belle to use a smart phone was going to be tough, but it was so worth it to see how happy Belle was about having it.

Ruby sent her reply explaining what a ;) meant before she subtly reached for the kitchen door and peeked to see how Belle would look when she replied to her message.

Belle picked the phone up as soon as it vibrated in her pocket. The brunette didn't know why her phone only vibrated without those cheerful melodies that Ruby's phone had. What she didn't know was that Ruby had made sure it was on silent otherwise Granny would have taken it away and asked Belle to finish her work instead. Ruby couldn't hold that laugh back at how Belle looked at that moment. The tiny brunette used her pinky to type down the message or e-mail like Ruby had suspected.

Belle was so into typing until something happened. Something she did not expect. Something that made Ruby laugh so hard that she had tears in her eyes.

Granny, who had eyed Belle for some time, was fed up with Belle being distracted from work, and instead of warning her for the hundredth time, she lightly slapped her head to get her attention back to the waiting customers. Belle pouted her lips at the attack and her hand rubbed at the offended area until Granny disappeared into the kitchen.

She knew she heard Ruby's laugh and she prayed to God that one day she would get to see that same thing happen to Ruby so that she-

"Ouch! Ouch! Granny I'm not five anymore, let go!" Granny walked back to the cashier, pulling Ruby by her ear for playing that game again on her phone and neglecting her duties at the diner.

_Oh sweet revenge._ Belle's hand covered her mouth as she giggled at how bitterly Ruby stood behind the cashier while she rubbed her ear with that same pout Belle had had a few moments ago.

Belle's obsession with books never bored Ruby, not even once. She loved how the brunette talked endlessly about her favorite book, character, and author. Ruby also noticed how Belle's eyes shined at the mention of the word "book". She might not have read that many herself, but she liked how Belle would read her some chapters till she got sleepy.

The brunette remembered when she walked by the library the other day. The old place was shut down long before the curse was broken. _Maybe with some effort, this library could be up and running again. _

This town was run by the one and only Regina, the evil queen. Ruby toyed with the idea of talking to Regina about the library and the possibility of her getting those keys back. By the end of that day, Ruby had decided to meet up with Regina to get those keys for her Belle.

The meeting with Regina after the diner shut down had gone smoothly. Ruby explained the advantages of having a library in the town and how it would benefit everyone living in it. Keys in hand, Ruby smiled at the _Library_ chain attached to the key. Belle was going to love it.

She shoved the key into her jeans pocket and hoped that Belle wouldn't stop her on her way up because she wouldn't be able to contain her excitement and therefore would ruin the surprise.

Back when Belle first came around, it was easy for Ruby to excuse herself for the night and just leave to God knows where. However, now that Belle was almost attached to her hip, it was really hard to get away from her when Ruby was on her wolf-time.

That day started out perfectly with them being all happy and bubbly in the morning. Belle tottered through the hotel doors, headed to the diner with Ruby in her tracks. The taller Brunette smiled gently at how Belle always seemed to be in a happy bubble all the time. She fingered the little box in her jacket pocket a few times, unable to stop her smile from growing. She could practically see Belle's shocked face and her running around the diner with the library key, high on happiness.

Later, when the two finally had their breaks, Ruby faked a worried face and hoped that Belle would notice it, which she did shortly after. A gentle hand wrapped around her forearm to get her attention, which caused Ruby to look up into the brunette's worried eyes then down, just like a scolded puppy.

"Ruby? Are you okay? You don't look okay, what is it?" The grip got a little tighter as if Belle was trying to show her that she was there for her, no matter what she needed.

_Hold it together, you are the wolf_. Ruby tried her best to keep that sad face for as long as she could.

She reached down to her pocket, slowly to add a little more suspense to the scene. Belle looked like she was watching some sort of horror movie: her eyes were wide and followed Ruby's every move. Ruby pulled out a little rectangular, navy blue box out of her jacket and complained about that little thing and how it had dug into her pocket all day. Belle was now confused. _Well if that box was really bothering Ruby why would she keep it in her pocket? Why does she even have a box in her pocket?_

"And I don't know what it is. I thought you might? So here, open it up." She handed the box over to a confused Belle, who was still wondering what that box had been doing there in the first place.

"Ruby-." _No, there was no way_. Belle's hands tightened around the edges of that box in her hand after she had opened it up. The word _Library_ looked back at her. She looked up at Ruby who wore a huge grin that filled her face.

The tiny brunette couldn't register the fact yet; she held the library key in her hands and repeated the information over and over in her head as she looked to the keys then back to Ruby and then to the keys again.

When her body finally caught up with her brain, she launched forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Ruby's neck, drew her in and held her tightly. Ruby hoped and prayed that the hammering in her chest wasn't obvious to the little brunette who held her tightly. She closed her eyes and took in the smell of Belle's hair, the warmth of her embrace. _If she could keep Belle in her arms like that forever, maybe in another life-._ Belle rested her head on Ruby's shoulder; it felt so welcoming and comfortable if you asked her.

Their embrace took a little bit longer than either of them was willing to admit.

Belle was the first to pull back from their little heaven. Ruby bit into her lower lip. She knew she would get hit after that long embrace because of how worried she had made Belle. Instead Belle's hand reached forward and held hers for awhile. Silence draped over them like a thick blanket yet it was a rather enjoyable type of silence, where neither needed words to convey how each one of them cherished the other.


	5. Chapter 5

Weeks had passed with Ruby being able to escape for her wolf's time away from Belle and her wild speculations. She kicked the stone that mocked her again as she walked through the forest. This past week, Belle had been extremely nosy because she was finally noticing Ruby's disappearances on certain days of each month.

The tiny brunette thought that what she did was for Ruby's own good; nothing more, nothing less. The memory of that night brought a silly smile to Ruby's face. She could hear Belle's voice as she kept ranting about Ruby and how she had left her while they were tidying the library that night. To Ruby it was easier to fake a headache than try to explain the whole "I'm sorry but my wolf's time is up next so I might have to leave before I rip your arm off." Ruby pursed her lips thoughtfully at that line again. _No it still wouldn't work._

The memory of Belle's shocked face, her almost angry entrance from last night attacked her again. The brunette had crouched down to where Ruby sat, playing on her iPhone on the ground.

"Ruby, I'm your friend and I love you. This is why I'm doing this." Belle's hand swatted the iPhone out of her hand to get her full attention. Ruby arched an eyebrow at the way Belle looked at her worriedly, so she lowered her phone down.

"Are you using?" Belle asked, eyes locked with Ruby's confused hazel ones.

"Using?" repeated Ruby, hoping that the brunette would be clearer this time.

"Drugs: are you using any?"

Ruby didn't know whether to laugh or be angry at that question. She stared blankly at Belle for awhile and tried to understand why she was even being asked that.

"I'm sorry. What?" She couldn't believe it. _Belle thought she was dealing? Or using or whatever it was that Belle thought? Why would she even get an idea like that?_

"It's been awhile and I noticed how you disappear into the night some days and you don't come back until the sun is up." Belle's hands moved animatedly with her words to explain her point.

Ruby rubbed her temple a few times; she really couldn't find an answer to that, one that wouldn't get her into trouble.

"Thank you for your concern, but I'm not dealing, I swear." There, please accept it.

Belle's face inched closer to the brunette; her eyes poured into Ruby's like she was checking out if the brunette was lying. It was a trick she had seen last night on TV on a show called NCIS or something. She was sure she could get Ruby to give in just like that guy had done at the end of the episode.

"Are you sure?"

_Yep, that was it_.

Ruby couldn't hold it in any longer and fell into a fit of giggles at how Belle was taking on this detective role so seriously.

"I swear I'm not." She threw both of her hands in the air after Belle pointed a finger at her face demanding the truth and nothing but the truth. _Yes she learned that as well._

"Okay, fine. Whatever it is you are hiding though…" she paused for a few seconds to give some suspense to her sentence before she added:

"I will find out what it is."

Ruby pressed a hand against the brunette's forehead and pushed her to the side while she faked a smile to keep the burning in her chest from showing up on her face.

—-

Ruby's eyes shifted between the old clock that hung in the hall and the TV before her. On the other hand, Belle's eyes were on Ruby's movements instead of the show they were watching. She didn't want her friend to get hurt and she was determined to know what the thing was that she hid.

She faked a yawn and stretched her arms out, knocking into Ruby's knee on purpose. The brunette looked down at Belle, then back to the TV again. Ruby followed her movements from the side of her eye and Belle took the stairs and looked like she was headed to bed finally.

On the other side of the hall, Ruby said goodbye to Granny and sprinted off to the front door, relieved that she would finally get to run like she usually did on such nights.

The cool air rushed through her fur as she ran aimlessly around the place. She played around with the empty cans that were scattered around in the garbage area and kept running in and out of the forest. As a wolf, one would think Ruby would have been able to notice a pair of blue eyes ogling her, but the childish wolf in Ruby usually loved to come out to play at that time.

"Ruby?" broke the sounds of the can hitting the ground and caused the wolf to spin around, fully prepared to rip someone's throat out. Belle froze in her place; she didn't know whether Ruby was really in there or if this animal had taken over her friend's body.

The brunette had snuck right after Ruby when she had left the hotel and had seen everything that had happened up to that point where the wolf was entertaining itself with those empty cans.

The wolf growled and narrowed its yellow eyes at her. _Maybe her friend wasn't there after all._ She took a slow step back and hoped that it would let her off with a warning this time. The moment the animal saw her was the moment it lunged forward. Belle freaked out and tripped backwards elbows first on the ground. The pain shot right through her and she closed her eyes and accepted that this, right here, was her last night.

It took her a while to notice that the wolf didn't bite her head off; instead it licked her cheek and nuzzled into her arms and neck like it was looking for affection. She carefully placed her hand on the wolf's head slowly and dragged her fingers through the monster's fur. It didn't attack, which meant that Ruby was indeed somewhere inside this thing. One pet turned into three and the wolf went from wanting a simple touch on the head to nudging Belle with its nose to get her to move around. That turned later into tugging Belle's skirt and dragging her around and the wolf looked more than happy for her company that night. They went from playing on the streets with cans and abandoned sticks to going through the forest and into the library when the weather started to growl at them. The smell of musty books filled Belle's senses when she unlocked the door of the huge library. The wolf tottered by her feet and shielded itself from the rain outside by pushing through Belle and into the library.

Belle shrugged off her jacket and threw it on the dark shelves that lay next to the heavy door. A pair of yellow eyes tracked her movement as she flicked on the lights and finally turned her full attention to the wolf behind her. The wolf blinked a few times before Belle gestured for it to move in and follow her to where she was headed, which it did.

Once the brunette made it past a few shelves, she stopped in her tracks and thoughtfully eyed one of the shelves. Her hand stretched forward, grabbing a heavy looking book that looked like some kind of story.

The wolf behind her kept looking at her and that book in wonder. As soon as the brunette moved again, the wolf followed. Belle settled down and patted her leg, a silent plea to the wolf to join her up close. The wolf slowly approached, afraid of being rejected or hit like most people had done to it. The fear in the animal's eyes was more than obvious to Belle's warm welcoming ones. She had understood that when she had first seen Ruby transform into this animal, this monster. Her first thought wasn't to run away and never come back to this human-wolf monster, but instead she stuck around and saw how it was still Ruby, just in another form. She saw how the brunette's eyes shone at the can rolling down the road; it reminded her of how Ruby looked when she played games on her iPhone. She noticed how this wolf didn't lash at her or growl like a wild animal would, so maybe it recognized her somehow. The heaviness of the wild beast on her thigh gave her some sort of comfort and she tangled the beast's fur with her hand a few times before it whined like a child as if it was asking Belle to stop.

Belle chuckled more to herself than to the animal that rested on her thigh and she finally let go of the monster's fur and picked up her book. Surprisingly, the wolf didn't move when Belle read to it. Instead, the monster's eyes followed the words as the brunette kept reading and glanced up at her face from time to time. Belle made sure to raise her voice or whisper when the story needed her to. She smirked at how it took the wolf only four chapters to doze off just like for Ruby when they used to lie side by side and read a story.

The brunette didn't mind reading without an audience, so she kept on reading. What she didn't notice, though, was how she drifted off to sleep, and how her body moved to lay on her side instead of leaning back on the shelves.

Ruby grumbled for a while and stretched her arms as far as she could. Last night was a blur, that's for sure, but she remembered parts of it like meeting Belle and running down the street and- _meeting Belle?_

She would have jumped up if it weren't for those arms that circled her waist. She blew her hair out of her face for a better view of who it was. _Crap._

Belle laid there extremely close to her, puffs of air hitting Ruby's face with each breath the brunette released. She tried to pull herself back, she really tried, but failed miserably. Each time she would pull back, Belle would pull in and bury herself more into the brunette's shoulder.

It took them a minute of rolling around on the floor before Belle finally woke up. What the tiny brunette hadn't expected was the fear that was written all over Ruby's face. She inched closer and ignored how those hazel eyes grew in size.

"Did I hurt you?" Ruby whispered, her voice dripping with shame.

"No, you wouldn't do that," Belle bit back in hopes of extinguishing the brunette's fears.

"Did I do this to you?" growled Ruby when her hand came in contact with Belle's injured elbow.

"No I did that to myself, I fell. No, stop moving around you are making me feel dizzy." Ruby's movements stopped dead after that and she let her head rest against the wooden floor peacefully and looked into the brunette's eyes.

"Belle, I'm a monster. You-"

Before she could register it, Belle's lips were on hers, pressing against her lightly. Belle pulled back with a coy smile on her face, one that made Ruby's heart beat like it never had before.


End file.
